Metta World Peace has been a Lakers fan favorite for quite some time, and in the last two seasons he spent with the club, the crowd cheered anytime he touched the ball. Now, Metta will be returning to the Lakers, but as a player development coach for the G-League South Bay Lakers.
World Peace is coming to South Bay.
Details ➡️ https://t.co/Oc4AVNUwfr pic.twitter.com/yL6bILgJlA
— South Bay Lakers (@SouthBayLakers) October 23, 2017
The South Bay Lakers have hired Metta World Peace as a player development coach, it was announced today by General Manager Nick Mazzella.
World Peace comes to South Bay as a seasoned veteran of the Lakers organization, having spent six seasons as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers (2009-13, 2015-17). World Peace was a key player on the 2010 NBA Champion Lakers and ranks ninth all-time in three pointers made (420) in franchise history. The four-time All-Defensive team selection posted career averages of 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his 17-year career with the Bulls, Pacers, Kings, Rockets, Knicksand Lakers.
World Peace joins Head Coach Coby Karl and Assistant Coaches Brian Walsh, Isaiah Fox, Dane Johnson and Sean Nolen to finalize the South Bay Lakers’ coaching staff for the 2017-18 season.
South Bay opens training camp on Tuesday, October 24 from 2:00pm-4:00pm at the UCLA Health Training Center. Media availability will take place following the conclusion of practice. Media members planning to attend should make prior arrangements with Noah Camarena (ncamarena@sb-lakers.com) of the South Bay Lakers Media Relations Department.
This is a nice addition to an already great South Bay Lakers coaching staff, and Metta will surely bring his knowledge from 17 seasons of professional basketball.
This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, as it was rumored that World Peace had taken Lakers forward Julius Randle under his wing when the two were playing together, and the tenacity that Randle brought to the game during the mentorship showed that Metta had at least some effect on the 4th year forward.
The Lakers have had to rely on talent from their G-League squad over the past three years, and an addition like Metta World Peace to the player development team will only help the parent team be assured that the guys they call up will be worthwhile.
